Denver Post to Appoint Marijuana Editor

The Denver Post is getting ready for the state's legal marijuana laws by assigning an editor to oversee a website dedicated to recreational marijuana.

Steve McMillan, public policy editor for Denver's major newspaper, tweeted the news about the hiring late Wednesday, showing a photo of the ad, which reads that "The Denver Post is hiring an editor to oversee the development and maintenance of a recreational marijuana website," reports The Huffington Post.

Within a short time and after several snarky tweets back to the paper about the new job, hundreds of people applied, prompting a quick message from Denver Post News Director Kevin Dale to JimRomensko.com, a media-watching blog to tell Romensko the job isn't open to the public.

"It’s early, but it’s an internal only position," Dale told Romensko. "We’re not adding a spot right now. Our contract with the Guild requires all new positions to be posted, so we did that. The editor will come from within the newsroom."

Colorado voters in 2012 agreed to allow adults 21 and older to possess and grow marijuana on a limited basis. The law says that adults may possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow as many as six plants at home with three flowering at a time for personal use only. While users can't sell marijuana, they can gift each other up to an ounce of the drug.

The newly appointed Post editor will probably be quite busy in his or her new position. The first recreational marijuana shops in the United States will open in Colorado on Jan. 1, and it's expected that more than 100 shops will be among the first wave, The Post reports.

The state's Marijuana Enforcement Division accepted 136 applications in October from people who want to open shops, another 28 applications for recreational marijuana-infused product sales, and 174 applications for cultivation businesses.

The new editor will be expected to research, write, and investigate articles about the new industry, says the job posting.